Spark igniters have heretofore been disclosed in use with similar devices in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,013,395 (A. F. Wormser), 4,348,172 (H. C. Miller), 4,526,532 (J. M. Nelson) and 3,843,311 (J. M. Nelson) wherein an electrical circuit is provided to generate a spark for igniting a flammable gas mixture.
In devices of the prior art, such as the propane gas hand torch shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,348,172 and 4,526,532, a piezoelectric igniter is used for creating a spark for igniting flammable gas in the burner tube portion of the device. In each of the patented devices, only a single spark is generated in the electrical circuit; the spark is generated within the burner tube through use of an electrical wire whixh is disposed either along the outside of the burner tube as in the first mentioned patent, or an electrical wire whixh is introduced to the inside of the burner tube along the length thereof such as is disclosed in the second mentioned patent.